Pokemon B 'n W, Redone!
by DisgaeaLord
Summary: Another redone fanfic, this time adding my own character with a Riolu as his partner as they travel with ash and friends across Unova to grow stronger, and prove to himself he can be just like his dad: The Champion! *better than it sounds trust me XP*
1. Meeting Ash

**Ok, i know alot of people are gonna be really, REALLY, Pissed, but unfortunately, i just ended up with loophole in my FF as is cause I messed up on the 1st chp ending, and NOW I FORGOT HOW THE STORY GOES X( so, since the last time I did this it acutally got ALOT of reviews and chps and words, i'm gonna make a FF based off the Unova Pokemon series, but, like before, adding my own little character to it :D still adding a Riolu, so dont wrry you riolu/lucario fans ^^ and yes, as always, I'm gonna keep my character one particular name...**

**Episode One: 1st Day as a Trainer**

"Well, this is it. Ready Riolu?" Zack asked, looking down at his pokemon who came up to as high as his knees. The pokemon smiled as it gave a nod.

"Ri lu!" It said excitingly, hopping up to it's trainer's shoulders as it sat down, it's legs wrapped around his neck, and laid it's paws on the top of Zack's blonde head. Zack's official get up was unique in it's own way. He had a complete white shirt with a black jacket around it, and baggy dark blue pants. He had grass-green eyes and to top it off, white shoes with a red border around it. Even his Riolu had a unique look to it. He didn't understand where it got it, but Riolu apparently had a red scarf that went around his neck, and no matter what, it refused to part with it, much less take it off. Zack breathed in the fresh air as he sighed happily, looking at the road ahead of him. As of yesterday, it was his tenth birthday, and today was his day as an official pokemon trainer.

Although today was the first day of his pokemon journey, he wasn't going to get a starter pokemon, seeing how he already had a Riolu. He also had another pokemon his dad gave him, but he wasn't to use it unless in emergencies. Strangely, the Riolu itself had remained in question. Zack had only found it a few weeks ago, surprised to find it not only all the way out in the Unova region, but beaten and worn out. It had apparently forgotten all traces of it's memory, only knowing that it held a strong fondness for the scarf around it's neck. When he brought it to a pokemon center to recover, they did an examination on it, and discovered that it was only a few days old, which now made it at least a month old as of now .

"Well Riolu, take a long last look. When we come back, we'll be pokemon masters, 'kay?" Zack said as he tilted his eyes up.

"Riii!" The Riolu said happily. Right before Zack could take his first step however, the two of them jumped as they heard a sudden voice from behind them.

"WAIT!" It shrieked, spooking the two. As they looked back, they saw Zack's mother jogging up to them quickly, gasping a bit out of breath seeing how she just got out of bed and into her clothes at the last minute. "Phew, I told you to wake me up before you left!" His mom said somewhat angrily. Zack just looked at him with nervous eyes.

"W-W-Well I was, but I thought you may over react to me leaving..."

"Over react?" His mom said in disbelief squeezing him, and the Riolu riding on him, into a large, rather tight, hug. "I would never over react! I'm just so proud to see you off on your journey, I...", His mother paused as she sniffled, "I've just never been so happy to see my little boy all grown up..." his mother said exaggerative.

"ACK! Mom I *cough* Can't...Ack breathe!" Zack said as he continued to make choking noises. Even the Riolu's face turned to a mixed shade of purple as it was being suffocated. His mother opened her eyes finally as she saw this, then chuckled as she let go. The two immediately gasped for breath as they could finally breathe.

"See what I mean?" Zack yelped.

"Lu!" The riolu yelled in agreement.

"Hehe, I'm sorry. It's just that your dad was your exact age when he began his journey. Seeing you like this is just...just...Oh come here!" She commanded, jumping him to get another hug. Luckily, he ducked out of the way in time and began taking off down the road. His mom moaned before she yelled to him. "I want a call the minute you get to the next town! And if you ever get into trouble just come straight home!" She shouted, waving at him. Zack smiled as he waved back.

"I will mom! Goodbye!" Zack said in excitement, before looking down the road he ran with a grin. "Next up, to be a pokemon master!"

***3 Hours Later...* **

"This is becoming a disaster!" Zack moaned, stopping to catch his breath as he leaned against a tree on his side. The Riolu hopped off his back as he looked at his worn out master somewhat worriedly. Within the time traveling, they've tried capturing a single Pidove, which somehow started a fight with being chased by Pidoves and Watchogs, and were chased to the point they had to dive into water and wait for the pokemon to leave before leaving the pond; AND THAT WAS ONLY THE FIRST HALF HOUR. There's no end to the story that continued during the next 2 and 1/2 hours later. Zack breathed in a deep sigh as he slouched down until he was sitting on the ground.

"This is ridiculous! How do people even begin a pokemon journey?" Zack asked Riolu, although he wasn't actually expecting an answer.

"Ri 'lu?" The Riolu said in a questionable tone, shrugging. Zack sighed to himself as he starred up into the sky. If it wasn't the fact that he had brought an umbrella, he would've gotten soaked by the earlier storm. It was kinda strange, however, seeing how the storm came out of nowhere, and left almost as soon as it came. Yet in-between, it was one of the largest types of storms for it's time. It took the Riolu half an hour before it managed to get all its fur dried. Strangely, Zack could've sworn he saw a pokemon within the thunder clouds, but only for a moment, and as to whether or not he really did he still didn't know for sure. Zack gave out another moaning sigh as he looked back at Riolu.

"I think we're gonna need someone whose done this bef-"

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" A voice suddenly yelled out, catching Zack's attention.

"Is it me, or did I just hear-"

"Pikachuuuuu!" The pikachu quickly yelled out. Zack gasp in surprise as he saw the electrical sparks down the pathway.

"No way!" Zack said in surprise, quickly grabbing Riolu, who quickly climbed up to Zack's back, sitting on his shoulders like previously. He quickly ran down the forest, simply side stepping from any tree in his way. He finally came to a clearing where he saw a trainer just as he caught a Pidove.

"No way, it's Ash!" Zack said excitedly.

"Riolu?" The Riolu said with a confused expression. Zack smiled as he looked back to him.

"You know, Ash. He's the guy who took place in that Shinnoh League Tournament we saw a few days ago." Zack replied.

"Rii!" The Riolu said in a shocked or surprised tone. The Riolu looked back at the sight, growing a shocked face. "Riolu!" It cried worriedly. Zack blinked in confusion before looking back at the trainer, growing shocked as well. Not only was his Pikachu, but apparently a girl's Axew as well, was taken by a strange looking group who had apparently caught the two pokemon and locked them in a glass case.

"What the heck are they doing?" Zack said in a mix of confusion and anger. He quickly ran towards the group as Ash had continued fighting.

"Pidove, use quick attack!" Ash commanded. The pidove yelled as it dove peak first straight towards the swoobat.

"Dodge and use gust!" The red headed girl commanded. As told, the Swoobat quickly dodged to the side then flapped it's wings repeatedly and quickly as a huge gust of wind threw the pidove straight towards the ground, knocking it out cold.

"Pidooo..." The pidove groaned as it lost consious.

"Pidove!" Ash said worriedly as the Pidove continued to groan in a passed out state. "Snap out of it!" Ash begged, knowing it was his only other pokemon that could stop team rocket.

"Hey!" Zack yelled as he finally made it to them as they all looked back. "Give them back their pokemon!" Zack said in a bit of a commandish tone.

"Oh great, another twerp." Jessie complained. Ash quickly took notice of the pokemon on the kid's back.

"A Riolu!" Ash said surprised as he quickly stood up. "Hey, can you have your Riolu help us?" Ash asked worriedly. The Riolu grew frightened as it quickly hid back behind Zack.

"Riiii..." It whimpered.

"Sorry, but it's only a month old, he doesn't know how to fight yet." Zack replied before looking back at the criminals. "Who are you guys anyway?"

"The names team rocket twerp, and don't you forget it!" Meowth replied. Zack nearly flinched at this, not expecting to get a reply from a pokemon as opposed to the humans.

"Woah! A talking meowth!" Zack said in surprise. Meowth simply sneered proudly.

"And the last one you'll ever see." Meowth commented.

"Our premium (or whatever he said I cant understand what he says in the anime O_P?) mission is complete. Off we go!" James said as he opened a box. Almost instantly, the air balloon inside began to inflate and rise up instantly as the trio hopped in and took off.

"No, Pikachu!" Ash yelled.

"Axew!" Iris yelled out soon after, hopping from branch to branch with great ease. Ash took the direct approach and began climbing as fast as he could, surprisingly passing Iris. Once he reached the top, he took one great mighty leap and attempted to grab the container that held his and Iris' pokemon. Unfortunately, he was mere inches away from it as he began to falling back towards the ground, screaming.

"Ahhhhh!" He yelled. Fortunately, he fell through the tree, with the branches breaking his fall bit by bit. Unfortunately, there were alot of branches, and he didn't stop until he finally hit the ground with a great big Thud. The entire time he fell. Riolu covered his eyes with his paw, not wanting to see the end result. "Oww..." Ash moaned.

"You ok?" Zack asked as Iris ran over too. Before anything else could be said however, an Oshawott suddenly appeared, running passed the three. With quick yet precised aim, the Oshawott threw the shell on it's chest at the giant air balloon, causing it to pop as it deflated and flew to the ground. The glass container attached to it quickly dropped and shattered, releasing the pokemon inside.

"Pikachu!"  
>"Axew!" The trainer's cried out as they both leaped down to grab the pokemon before they fell. At the same time, the shell Oshawott threw circled across as it came back to him like a boomerang, catching it with one hand.<p>

"Oshawott Oshawott Oshawott!" The Oshawott cheered happily as it jumped a bit. Zack smiled to see everything worked out, but then looked back as he saw Team Rocket land with ease as well.

"You don't do that to us!" Jessie said angrily.

"Pikachu and Axew are our friends. Your not taking them!" Ash yelled back.

"Ash is right, he's telling the truth!" Iris said in agreement.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. Pikachu followed as it began to charge it's electricity.

"Swoobat, use Air Slash!" Jessie commanded as well as she brought out her pokemon. It to, followed command as it suddenly released blade-like gusts of winds, not only towards Pikachu, but as Axew as well. The impact burst into a cloud of smoke as it struck the two pokemon.

"Pika!"

"Axew!" The two pokemon cried out in pain, damaging and interrupting Pikachu's attack. As the smoke cleared, Pikachu and Axew appeared worn out from the blast.

"Air Slash again!" Jessie commanded, not even planning to let the two pokemon rest for a mere moment.

"No, they'll be done for if they get hit again!" Zack commented worriedly. At the same time, Riolu simply watched and observed the scenario in a trance like state. He watched in wonder at the battle, noting how the pokemon still struggled to get to their feet. As it saw the Swoobat prepare another attack though, in mere moments, it's pupils narrowed as it's ears perked up. It quickly hopped from Zack's shoulder's and towards the incoming attack.

"Riolu!" Zack yelled worriedly.

"Riiiiii," The Riolu bagan chanting as a strange blue aura began to appear around it. Within a matter of moments, the aura grew until a small sphere-like aura surrounded it "Lu!" The Riolu screeched as it's shield-like aura collided with Swoobat's attack, creating another dust like explosion, this one much bigger as it swept across the area. The gang coughed a bit as the smoke spread around.

"This may be the best time to retreat." James' voice spoke out from within the cloud. As the dust began to dissipate, the area became visible again. It was evident that Team Rocket had escaped, but that was the least of Zack's worries, as he saw an exhausted Riolu on it's legs, seeming to gasp for breath.

"Riolu!" Zack yelled worriedly as he ran to his pokemon's side, grabbing it just as it collapsed from exhaustion. The other trainers' pokemon were in no better shape as they collapsed soon after.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled too, running to his pokemon's side. As Zack looked back, he saw that the other two trainers had injured pokemon as well. Knowing what was best, he gathered the Riolu into his arms before gesturing towards the other two.

"You two follow me. I know the closest pokemon center from here." Zack said before he took off running. Iris and Ash both looked at each other questionably. They just met this kid yet he was already trying to help them. Still, weighting their options, they had little choice, and nodded to each other as they took off in the same direction.

**Later...**

"Thanks again for the help." Ash said as he relaxed on the bench. Zack simply grinned as he scratched the back of his head.

"Aww don't thank me, it's my Riolu you should really be thanking. I never expected it to jump out to defend them like that to be honest." Zack replied.

"But I thought you said Riolu didn't know how to fight?" Iris asked with a raised brow.

"I did. Doesn't mean he can't defend himself though. Endure is one of the few moves he knows for now." Zack explained, before turning back to Ash. "By the way Ash, could I ask you a question?" Zack asked.

"Actually I had one for you too. How did you know my name was Ash before I said so?" Ash asked curiously.

"Duh, your like famous! I saw you compete in the Shinnoh League Tournament!" Zack said in excitement. Iris looked at Ash stunned.

"You were in a Tournament?" Iris exclaimed.

"Yeah, I've been in all of them from Kanto to the Shinnoh so far, as well as fighting the Frontier Brains." Ash added.

"Wow, I didn't think a kid like you would win so many tournaments."

"Oh winning? Don't worry about that, he barely does. In fact, the only match I watched of him in he lost." Zack commented. Ash fell anime style, feeling like he lost his "moment of glory". "But still," Zack continued, "I was wondering if you could teach me how to be a trainer." Zack asked. Ash tilted his head at this in confusion.

"Teach you how to "be a trainer"?" Ash repeated, confused at the statement.

"Yeah, you know, show me the ropes and stuff. Today was my first actual day of being a Trainer, but it hasn't exactly worked for me. I try capturing a Pidove, an army attacks me. You try capturing a Pidove, it works like a charm."

"You should've seen him before when-"

"Sure, I'll teach ya some stuff." Ash quickly interrupted, purposely as well. At that moment, the others looked as the door leading to the infirmary opened. Pikachu, Pidove, and Axew happily hopped to the counter, flew in Pidove's case, while Riolu simply ran towards Zack, jumping up to him as he whined.

"Luuuu!" It cried out. Zack simply chuckled as he pat the Riolu's head.

"He really seems to like ya." Ash commented as he walked over to get his Pikachu.

"Yeah, we've been buds since we met. I found Riolu a couple weeks ago, but it turned out it had Amnesia. I wouldn't be surprised if he thought I was his dad." The Riolu chuckled a bit to itself, then perked it's ears up as it saw Ash and Iris with their pokemon walking over. It shrieked a bit to itself as it quickly climbed up and over Zack's shoulders, looking back at the group from behind him.

"It's pretty jumpy. Is it always like that?" Iris asked, noticing how the Riolu shook a bit in fear of her and Ash.

"Yeah, kind of. It prefers keeping close to me, he's scared of other people and most pokemon. After all, it's only two months old." Zack commented. Ash looked surprised at the comment.

"It's only two months old?" Ash asked. He was mostly surprsied at the fact that the Riolu managed to use it's power to protect Pikachu and Axew at it's age. Ash rubbed his chin as he took a closer look at the Riolu.

"Now that you mention it, it is a bit smaller than the last one I saw." Ash commented. The Trio looked as Pikachu hopped off of Ash shoulder.

"Pika Pika Pii." Pikachu said, waving his arms up and down as if trying to greet Riolu.

"Ax-Axew Axew." The Axew said as well, popping it's head out of Iris hair. The Riolu only contiued to shake a bit in fear as it ducked its heads half way, only showing its head from the nose up. Pikachu tilted his head curiously yet confused.

"Pika?" It said in a questionable tone. Zack just sighed as he scratched his Riolu's ears in a way that soothed it. It was only confirmed as the Riolu hummed to himself in a calm demeanor.

"Like I said, he really distrusts everyone else." Zack said, before turning his attention back to Ash and Iris. "The day I found him, he was weak and appeared beaten. I don't know if he was attacked by a pokemon, or probably, "Zack looked back at the Riolu for a second before turning back, "might've been abused by a trainer. Either way, I was the first thing it saw when I found it, but it was still worn out, so I had to take it to a pokemon center to treat it. That really wasn't a good idea though on my part." Zack commented a bit uneasily. Ash took notice of the way he said this.

"What do you mean by that?" Ash asked a bit curiously. Zack grabbed the Riolu from his back as he held it in his arms. The Riolu cuddled a bit closer to Zack's chest a bit nervously, though Zack just smiled as he pet it's head again.

"See the scarf around it's neck?" Zack gestured as he pointed to it. Ash and Iris looked where he pointed. "One thing you never wanna try to do is take it from him."

"Why's that?" Iris asked.

"Day after I dropped the Riolu off at the pokemon center I came back to check on it. I was expecting everything to be fine, but when I walked in the building well..." Zack paused as he looked back at Riolu, scratching the back of his own head, unable to finsih his sentence. Ash and Iris looked at each other confused, before looking back at Zack.

"Well what?" Iris asked. Zack took a few more moments to think to himself before replying.

"He broke down a wall trying to escape." Zack said bluntly. Ash and Iris' eyes widened in disbelief at that.

"He what?" The said at the same time.

"You can ask around my home town, it's true. The time I got there, it was breathing exhaustedly and in a corner. Nurse Joy told me they were just trying to see if it had any injuries around it's neck that needed treatment, but the Riolu freaked out and tried to escape. I was just as surprised as you were when I heard it broke down the wall as well. I don't know if it really was the scarf or just being surrounded by people, but the next thing the Riolu ran to was me." Zack explained, looking down as he saw his Riolu had fallen asleep.

"Wow, that's some story. Did you ever get to see his power yourself?" Ash asked in surprise.

"Only once. It happened two weeks ago actually. I was helping professor Juniper take pictures of the deerling this season, but..."

*_**flash back...***_

_"Wow, look at all of them." Zack commented in amazement. He had fortunately stumbled upon an entire herd of deerling, there must've been at least twenty of the. Aiming his camera carefully, he took a picture as it made an audible click. He was also lucky he had a perfect view from behind the tree, being just close enough too see the deerling in the clearing, yet hidden enough to get up close. "Wow, this is awesome, huh Riolu?" Zack asked, waiting a few seconds for a response, before repeating. "Riolu?" He questioned, noticing he wasn't near his feet or on his back. He looked back and forth from the places he last saw Riolu, before hearing rustling in the trees. As he looked up, he chuckled a bit as he saw the Riolu trying to reach the berries that were just a little bit above him in the tree branches._

_"Riolu, what are you doing silly?" Zack asked, although he already knew what he was doing._

_The Riolu struggled as it tried to reach the berries just over him. He was having a bit of a struggle though as he was holding onto the branch he was on while trying to reach the berries at the same time. With a bit of a grumble, seeing how it was still out of his reach, he crept up the branch a little bit more attempting to get closer in reach. However, he failed to notice the tree branch as it began to crack a little bit. The closer he got within reach of the berries, the more it cracked up. It continued until the Riolu finally grabbed hold of the berries. It kept a tight grip on it as it gently stood up to its feet, using both it's hands to pluck the fruit off the branch best it could. After a bit of a struggle, the Riolu smiled as it finally plucked the berries off the branch. But before it could even take a bite from it, it screeched as the branch suddenly snapped, plunging straight down towards the ground, to Zack's worry. _

_"Riolu!" He panicked. But instead of landing to the ground, the landing came to a halt as it collided into the head of a rather large looking pokemon, one that had apparent anger in it's eyes as it woke up. Zack simply froze a bit as he saw the pokemon wake up and stand, getting a full glimpse of the pokemon that stood a full foot above him. "Ehh heh heh, uhh nice Sawsbuck, easy boy." Zack said, one, trying to keep it calm, and two, distract it from the Riolu who fell on his head. This failed though as the Riolu moaned a bit as it sat back up, still on the Sawsbuck's head._

"Riolu?" The Riolu said in a questionable tone, noticing the surface it was laying on was moving. As it looked down, it shrieked a bit as it saw the Sawsbuck looking angrily back at it. Before the Sawsbuck could do anything else though, Zack quickly grabbed the Riolu as he began to take off running. The Sawsbuck fumed through it's nostrils as it began taking off after the two, a much faster pace.

_"Sawsbuck!" The Sawsbuck growled as it gained on them. Zack looked back in a bit of fear as he saw the Sawsbuck getting closer in on them, knowing they couldn't out run it. Thinking quickly, he ducked over to the side of a tree and took off running that way. The Sawsbuck growled as it continued down the path it was going on._

_Zack looked back again, grinning as he saw he lost sight of the Sawsbuck. He quickly looked down at the Riolu he held in his arms. "You alright buddy?" He asked. The Riolu sniffed, a bit frightened from the experience, before nodding. Zack smiled at it as he looked up at the bath ahead, but as he did, he gasped a bit as he did his best to stop, skidding across the ground until he fell on his back, seeing the Sawsbuck running towards them from the front. _

_"Crud!" He yelped, quickly hig tailing as he turned and ran again, this time down a different path. Only this time, he came to a stop as he the area was surrounded by trees this time, all too close and huddled together to squeeze through. As he turned around he saw the Sawsbuck standing in place, still apparently fumed. The Riolu did more damage landing on him than he thought as Zack noticed the large bruise-like bump on his head. _

_"Sawsbuck, we didn't mean to attack you, it was an accident." Zack said, hoping it would somehow understand him and calm down. It proved useless though as the Sawsbuck scraped it's hoof around the ground, indicating it was ready to charge again. Knowing it was about to attack, Zack quickly set Riolu down on the other side of the thick trees, just being small enough to get his arms and the Riolu through. The Riolu looked back at bit in confusion and fear._

_"Riooo..." It said worriedly. Zack just smiled as it petted it's head._

_"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Just go find Professor Juniper, ok?" Zack said, trying to keep it calm enough so it would leave to find her. He then gave the Riolu a slight and soft push to help it get the idea, before turning back and looking at the Sawsbuck bravily. "Hey Sawsbuck, over here!" Zack said, waving it's arms back and forth to get its attention, also to keep it from noticing the Riolu who was on the other side of the trees where they were. Finally it worked, as the Sawsbuck took no hesitation, running head, or horn first depending on how you see it, straight towards Zack. Zack quickly duck and rolled out of the way, just in time as the Sawsbuck collided into the tree behind him. _

_The Riolu jumped as it saw this, trembling a bit as the Sawsbuck glared him in the eyes. It barely paid the small Riolu any attention though as it looked back at Zack. Zack quickly got up and ran down the path, hoping to lure it away from Riolu and stall long enough for Riolu to tell, or at least send some message, to Professor Juniper telling her he needed help. However, to the Riolu's surprise as he looked back at the Sawsbuck, the Sawsbuck took a running start before taking a mightyt leap into the air. _

_"Riolu!" The Riolu yelled loudly, getting Zack's attention. Zack suddenly stopped as he noticed the Sawsbuck missing. He took glances around as he noticed this, before looking at the Riolu again. _

_"Where'd he go?" He asked himself. By the time he noticed the shadow looming over him, it was too late. As he looked up, his face met the front end of the Sawsbuck's hoof, just finishing the Jump Kick attack it was preforming. Zack groaned in pain as he felt his eye, which was now somewhat bluish, throb in pain. He opened his other eye, vision blurry for a few moment from the impact to his head. As he looked back up he saw the still growling Sawsbuck, apparently not even satisfied with the blow to the face. _

_"Riolu!" The Riolu screamed, squeezing through the opening between the trees as he tried running towards Zack. The Sawsbuck looked back at the Riolu, growling again as it began to charge toward it. As the Riolu stopped in its tracks, frozen in fear, Zack looked down the path as he saw, to his fear, the Sawsbuck heading straight towards the Riolu._

_"Riolu no!" Zack yelled. He tried to get to his feet and do something, but the impact to the head made his body partly numb as he struggled to get up. At the same time, Riolu just stood there, unable to force itself to move its legs as the Riolu struggled to force itself to move, but to no use. It closed its eyes as it awaited the oncoming Take Down from the Sawsbuck. "Riolu!" It heard Zack say once more. The Sawsbuck stopped as it turned around, pausing for a moment as if in thought, before turning back and running towards Zack again. _

_Then, all at once, the Riolu's eyes opened as it felt the fear coming from Zack due to the Sawsbuck. It's eyes narrowed greatly as it suddenly burst with speed towards the Sawsbuck. "Riiiooooo," The Riolu started to chant as it's arm began to glow with a white light. Hearing this, the Sawsbuck turned back as he heard it, and before it could react, it felt the full impact of Riolu's brick break as it fell back a few feet away from Zack. "Lu!" The Riolu finished with a roar. Zack blinked in surprise at this, not expecting a Riolu so young at it's age to manage to take down a strong Sawsbuck like it just did. As he looked back at the Riolu, he saw the it still had the same narrow eyes it had before, but after a few seconds, it grobbled a bit as if in pain before it passed out, falling to the ground. Finally after waiting awhile, he fianlly managed to get to his feet as he ran towards the Riolu, picking it up in its arms._

_"Riolu! Are you ok?" Zack asked, worried for his friend. Before it could even answer, Zack felt himself shake a bit in shock as he saw the Sawsbuck getting up, though wobbled a bit in pain, but clearly still angry. _

_"Saaawwwssss..." The Sawsbuck began to growl as it charged a green Energy Ball from it's mouth. Zack grumbled a bit as he stood back onto his feet, holding the Riolu in it's arms tightly to protect it._

_"Leave us alone!" Zack yelled at it. The Sawsbuck refused to listen though as it finished charging it's Energy Ball, firing it straight at Zack._

_"Tepig use Ember!" A voice suddenly shouted out. Zack watched as the incoming blast was halted by the blast of fire that struck it. Another barrage of small ember flames were shot out in front of Zack, creating a small wall of fire in front of him and the Sawsbuck. As Zack looked towards the source of the blast, he smiled in relief as he saw Professor Juniper, and the Tepig she had just used. In fear of the flame, seeing as it was it's weakness, the Sawsbuck took off, seeing how it wouldn't be able to get over the wall of flame without burning itself. Professor Juniper smiled as she took the pokeball back out. "Return Tepig." Juniper commanded as the red beam brought the Tepig back into the pokeball, then jogged over towards Zack. "Are you two ok?" Juniper asked worriedly. Zack nodded as he replied._

_"I'm fine, but I'm worried about Riolu. It tried to fight and defend me, but then it passed out." Zack said worriedly, looking back at the Riolu who was puffing a bit exhausted. _

_"Ooohh I'm sorry I couldn't get here any sooner. When I saw the Sawsbuck chasing you I wanted to help but I had to go back and get a pokemon at the lab." Juniper apologized. Zack just smiled calmly as he looked back at her._

_"It's ok." _

_"C'mon, let's take him back to my lab. We'll get him checked up."_

***End Flash Back***

"Wow, that sounds amazing!" Ash said, impressed that his Riolu did what it did.

"Yeah, but thats when the trouble comes in." Zack commented, growing a curious expression on Ash's face.

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when I said he fears humans and Pokemon?" Zack asked, to which Ash and Iris nodded.

"Yeah, what about it?" Iris asked.

"Well, like you saw when it came to helping you guys, he only ever fights if someone is in danger, and even then he uses all his energy if he can. But if it comes to trying to just fight for capture or fighting another trainer, he's just too frightened to do it. That's another reason why I was hoping you could help me, so I could be a better trainer and get him to fight." Zack added. Ash simply smiled as he nodded.

"It'll be no problem. Pikachu and I used to have the same problem, although he had more of an anger issue than a frightened issue." Ash commented.

"Pikaaa." Pikachu said as he scratched his ears in a chuckling/less serious tone.

"Excuse me." A feminine voice spoke our. As the three looked, they saw it was Nurse Joy. "I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation, but I thought I should point out it's getting late." Nurse Joy said as she pointed to the window. As the group looked, they were all in surprise as they realized she was right. The stars were out and it was clearly night, seeing how the bright moon radiated with the sky.

"Oh wow, time flys when your having telling stories." Zack commented.

"If you'd like, we have spare bedrooms here at the pokemon center." Nurse Joy offered. The group smiled as they all were in agreement.

"That'd be awesome. Thanks Nurse Joy." Ash replied, before looking back at Zack. "Then tomorrow I'll help you capture your very first pokemon...err...second, I guess. You know, aside from your Riolu." Zack smiled back as he nodded in agreement.

"Awsome! Thanks."

"Trust me kid, if you've seen him try to capture a pokemon, you wouldn't be thanking him." Iris commented.

**Well I think that's a good place to end off. I'd like to knwo which you guys would prefer more, though I think I do a good job with the whole "AU extra char" fanfics like I did with the yugioh GX thing. RnR and tell me what cha think. Till next time!...whatever that means.**


	2. A Sandile Gusher of change

**Episode 2:A Sandile Gusher Of Change**

"Ok, this time for sure!" Zack deemed as he through the pokeball as hard as he could at the Pidove. Unfortunately it ended in failure, for the seventeenth time again, as the Pidove simply dodged to the side again. Zack grunted a bit at the predictament. "Darn it!" He said irritably, running to pick up the pokeball which went down near some trees, to which the Riolu simply laughed at is it watched from his back. Iris looked back as she observed this again, still in a bit of confusion, before looking back at Ash.

"Remind me again why your having him trying to capture your Pidove?" Iris asked confused.

"It's just a matter of working on catching a pokemon. Sometimes a pokemons' gonna be on the move, and he'll have to be ready to catch it once he sees it." Ash replied, before turning back to look at her. "By the way, why are you coming along with me anyway?" Iris just looked back at him annoyed.

"Excuse me, but it's not me that's coming along with you, it's you that's coming along with me, get it?" Iris restated as she sped up to walk past him. It was at this time Zack had finally gotten back after getting his Pokeball.

"So if I'm coming with you, then am I following you, or am I technically following her?" Zack asked confused.

"Your following me, and so is she." Ash replied as he began to speed up a bit till he was walking past her.

"Oh please, your following me. And you know it's true." Iris retorted as she began to increase her walking speed again.

"Axew." The tiny pokemon commented as it popped it's head out of Iris' hair. Ash grunted as he began to go faster.

"Man!" He grunted going past her. Iris grunted as she began to walk faster too, which soon became a race between the two.

"Excuse me!" She said in a commandish tone.

"Excuse **me**!" For the next ten seconds, Zack and Riolu watched with sweats dropping down their back head, watching as the two tried to outrun one another repeatedly, until they finally came to a stop a few seconds later.

"Who say you can walk in front of me?" Iris stammered.

"No one!" Ash retorted. Zack just blinked to himself, unable to tell what was going on.

"Hey guys, can't we all just get along?" He asked peacefully.

"NO!" They both stammered simultaneously, causing him to jump. Soon right after, they went onto their bickering. Zack just scratched the back of his head as he watched this.

"And to think this is what pokemon trainers are like..." Zack muttered.

"Rioluuu..." The Riolu commented quietly. The two of them suddenly looked as they saw as Oshawott walking past them happily until it stood in the middle of them. It starred at them for a few seconds with a happy grin until the two looked at him.

"Oshawotttt!" It chanted happily as it smiled. Zack smiled as he saw this, glad that they were calming down.

"Well, it's nice to see that they can put aside their differences long enough to- HA!" Zack yelped as he, once again, threw the pokeball at the Pidove again. And as always, the Pidove had moved out of the way in time before this could happen.

"Darn it!"

_**It's always hard when your Journey begins  
>Hard to find your way, hard to make new friends<br>But there's nothing you can't do  
>'Cause you got the power inside of in you<br>It's not always BLACK and WHITE,  
>But your heart always knows what's right<br>It's not about win or lose; it's the path you choose  
>Let the Journey Begin! Pokèmon!<strong>_

"Osha, Osha!" The Oshawott chanted happily.

"It's you!" Ash said in sudden realization. "I remember..." Ash commented, remembering how the Oshawott stopped team rocket's air balloon. Ash rummaged through his pocket as he pulled out his pokedex, trying to find out some more data on the pokemon. At the same time, Zack walked over as he kneeled down on one leg, getting a closer look at the pokemon.

"For some reason it looks familiar..." Zack commented as he rubbed his chin. He didn't realize the Riolu had climbed off his shoulder as it started to crawl over to the Oshawott until he was in front of Zack. Zack blinked in surpirse at this as he saw the Riolu crwaling closer to the Oshawott. "Riolu?" He questioned, surprised at the Riolu's strange behavior.

The Riolu crawled a couple feet closer to it as he sniffed it, as if trying to pick up a familiar scent from said pokemon. As he did, Oshawott took notice and smiled.

"Osha!" It said, again happily. The Riolu simply huddled to itself frightened a bit as it shook. It had its eyes closed, moaning a bit in fear from the pokemon, but as it did, the Oshawott simply walked over casually before patting it on the head. "Oshawott Osha." It said calmly. In a full view comparison, the Riolu was just two inches shorter than the Oshawott, then again, it was only one month old. The Riolu continued to shake a bit in fear before opening one of it's eyes, then chuckled happily. Iris took notice of this however as she tilted her head.

"Hey, didn't you say Riou was frightened of alot of different people and pokemon?" Iris asked in confusion.

"Yeah I did. It usually takes awhile for it to get along with someone." Zack replied. As they spoke, the gang watched as the Oshawott began to play with the young Riolu, showing it as the Oshawott took the shell off it's chest then began balancing the shell on it's nose, all the while balancing and standing on one foot. The Riolu chuckled to itself as it clapped it's paws in a playful manner.

"Riolu Riolu!" It said happily. Oshawott soon after gave the shell to Riolu, who tried to balance the shell on his nose as well. Unfortunately, even when standing on both it's legs, it continued to drop the shell from it's nose. It looked like it was about to cry, but the Oshawott smiled as it patted his head, which seemed to reduce the Riolu to simply sniffling. It then grabbed the Riolu from under it's arms as it helped it back up it's feet. While still holding the Riolu up with one arm, it grabbed the shell with the other as it set it back on the Riolu's nose. To the Riolu's delight, it was helping keep balance to keep the shell on. Ash starred at the strange predicament as along with the others.

"How long does it take for him to get used to others?" Ash asked. As they continued to watch, Pikachu looked interested in the fun the other two were having as it climbed off Ash's shoulder as well, standing a few feet away from the others.

"Pika pika." It said happily, apparently wanting to join in on the fun. The Oshawott nodded happily as it gave the shell to Pikachu, who started to balance it on his nose soon after. Surprisingy, Pikachu got the gist of it at a faster rate, already mastering balancing it on his nose. The Riolu watched with some curiosity as it did this. Pikachu noticed this as the Riolu ooed in wonder, then took the shell off his nose, offering it back to Riolu. However, unlike before when Oshawott gave it to him, the Riolu shook again as it huddled in fear, before running back to Zack, hiding behind his legs as he looked back, still in fear.

"Pikaaa." Pikachu said in a bit of a sad tone as his ears flopped down. Zack just sighed as he grinned, picking up the Riolu.

"Don't worry, it'll be like this for awhile. Took me three long weeks before it even allowed me to hold him." Zack said, trying to make the Pikachu feel better, before turning back to Ash. "By the way, the Oshawott belongs Juniper." Zack stated, causing Ash and Iris to look at him surprised.

"How do you know?" He asked.

"Yeah, I mean it could be anyone's Oshawott, right?" Iris added.

"Well it could be, there are two facts about Juniper's Oshawott to tell: 1, it's the only other pokemon that's played with Riolu for three weeks before Riolu got used to him. 2, it's the only Oshawott I've seen able to balance a shell on it's nose." Zack answered. The trio looked as the Oshawott put the shell back on it's chest before walking over to Ash.

"Oshawott Osha Oshawott." The Oshawott said happily, waving it's arms back and forth.

"So if it is, why's it here?" Ash pondered. Iris simply giggled and awed as she grabbed the small pokemon.

"You're so cute, and you were following me!" Iris stated proudly "If your cheeks were any softer and your cheeks were any squishier, I couldn't stand it!" Iris commented as she poked the oshawott's face repeatedly. Unfortunately, the Oshawott seemed to disagree as it moaned displeased. "Of course, it's obvious you can't live without me. I promise I'll keep you as my very own pokemon!" Iris said as if agreeing with it. The three looked as the Oshawott struggled until it got out of her grip, then shook it's head back and forth, then ran up to Ash as it crawled up his back.

"Something tells me he doesn't wanna be yours." Zack commented with a grin.

"What's going on?" Ash questioned as he felt the Oshawott climbing. He looked in surprise as he saw the Oshawott throw Pikachu off his shoulder, causing him to roll as he tumbled a few feet away. "Pikachu!" Ash yelled a bit worried. Pikachu brushed off the dirt on it's skins before looking back at the Oshawott angrily.

"**Pika**!" It said irritably. The Oshawott looked back at Ash as it climbed off of him, stnading in front of him.

"I don't get it, what's it want?" Ash asked. The Oshawott then looked back at Zack with a worried expression as it pointed to Ash with both its arms.

"Osha Oshawott Osha Oshaaa." It was saying. Zack scratched the back of his head in a mix of confusion as it did this.

"I don't know but," Zack paused as he looked back and forth between the Oshawott and Ash, "I think he wants you to have him." Zack replied. Ash looked at this with curiosity as he looked back at the Riolu. Before anything else could've been said though, Pikachu began to growl as it charged it's electricity.

"Pikachuuuuu!" Pikachu roared as it released it's electricity back at the Oshawott. Reacting quickly, the Oshawott grabbed the shell off it's chest, and used it to deflect the Lightning bolt, unfortunately, back into Ash's face, causing him to collapse onto his back.

"Ri Ri Ri!" The Riolu chuckled happily.

"I hate to be rude, but that was pretty funny." Zack commented. Zack did his best to contain a chuckle, but just ended up turning it into a snicker, all the while Iris and Axew were laughing loudly.

"Oshawott!" Oshawott said worriedly. Ash groaned as he rubbed his face, sitting back up.

"What was that for?" He asked in a frustrated tone. The Oshawott looked at him with apologetic eyes.

"Oshaaa." It said sadly. Ash simply smiled as he pet his head, knowing it was upset.

"Hey, don't worry, it's ok." Ash stated as he stood back up. "So you really wanna come with me?" Ash asked curiously.

"Oshaowtt!" It said happily with heart-warming eyes.

"Pikaa..." Pikachu moaned a but dissapointed, unsure of having the pokemon with them after it's experience with it just a moment ago.

"Don't forget you'll need his pokeball." Zack reminded, knowing that it would have already been in a pokeball since it did belong to professor Juniper.

"Oh yeah."

_

"Transferring Pokeball now." Juniper said as she sent the pokeball through the transporter. They waited a few seconds before they finally saw a flash through the machine as a pokeball appeared. Ash grinned as he grabbed the pokeball, holding it in front of the camera.

"Got it, thank's Professor Juniper." Ash said gratefully.

"No problem." Juniper replied, before looking next to Ash, with an interested look. "And who do we have here?" Juniper questioned, looking to see Zack. Zack waved as she saw him.

"Hey Professor Juniper, it's been awhile." Zack commented. The two looked back as they saw Riolu pop it's head out from behind Zack's head.

"Riolu." He greeted happily as it waved. Juniper simply giggled a bit quietly as she waved back.

"Hi Riolu, how's my favorite pokemon?" She asked in a teasing-like tone. The Riolu simply blushed a bit as it rubbed the back of his head. Riolu then looked back towards Zack. "So what's going on? I didn't know you were traveling with Ash." Juniper asked curiously.

"Well it's kinda a long story. To put it simple, I was gonna just travel on my own but uhh...I kinda had some trouble getting a start on things, so Ash agreed to help me learn how to be a trainer." Zack answered.

"Well that's nice, I'm sure Ash is ok with it, aren't you Ash?" Juniper asked.

"Of course, travelings always more fun when you got company." Ash commented. Juniper simply gigled some more before looking back at Zack with a sudden expression.

"Oh Zack that reminds me! Your mom called, she wanted me to remind you about not using-"

"**Shhhhh!**" Zack shushed in a nervous expression as his eyes widened. Ash and Iris looked back as they heard this, wondering what he was worrying about. It took Juniper a few seconds before she realized what he meant before her eyes widened a bit in surprise.

"Oh uhhh I mean...your mother called to uhhh make sure you give her a call when you get to the next town, heh heh..." Juniper quickly said with a nervous tone. "Anyway, as for Oshawott," Juniper began, catching his attention, "be sure to keep a good eye on it." Juniper said before hanging up. As Ash turned off the receiver on his end, he and Iris turned to look at Zack with a confused expression.

"Say what was she going on about earlier that you interrupted her for?" Iris asked, wondering if Zack was hiding some sort of secret.

"Uhhh well..." Zack mumbled, scratching the back of his head nervously. He quickly looked around to see if he could find something to distract their conversation. "Hey, where's Oshawott?" Zack asked, noticing that Oshawott was actually gone. The others looked as they found out he was telling the truth.

"Hey, where is Oshawott?" Iris repeated.

"He might've walked out of the building, lets go!" Ash deemed as he was already running outside, followed by Iris. Riolu looked back at Zack as he gave a questionable sigh.

"Riolu?" Riolu said questionably, even more so as Zack simply smiled as he looked back.

"I can't let anyone know about her, at least not yet." Zack replied before running out of the building as well.

"Oshawott, Oshawott!" Ash called out as he continued to look for him.

"It's hard to believe that someone with such short feet could actually move so fast and far." Zack commented.

"Riolu?" The Riolu said, wondering if he was included in the description. Zack just chuckled as he pat the Riolu's head.

"Not you Riolu, your more of the fighting type, so your skin and muscle." Zack commented.

"Ri 'lu." The Riolu said happily. The two suddenly jumped as they looked back, seeing Ash and Iris falling down a hole screaming.

"Ash, Iris!" Zack yelled worriedly as he ran over. As he looked inside, Ash coughed as the dust scattered around him as Iris rubbed her head.

"That hurt..." He moaned.

"What's going on?" Iris asked as she got up.

"It looks like a trap." Ash replied.

"Pika." Pikachu said in agreement as the two looked back at each other.

"Only question is, who could've done this?"

"Pika."

"Sandile." A voice suddenly spoke up. Zack looked ahead as Ash and Iris looked up out of the hole to see a younger boy looking back at them.

"Sandile?" Ash asked as the two of them finally crawled out of the hole, opening and looking up the pokemon in his pokedex.

"Sandile: The Desert Frog Pokemon. A dark membrane Protects it's eyes from the sun, and it buries itself in the sand with its eyes and nose sticking out." The Pokedex stated.

"I'm Iris, and I can't thank you enough for helping us get out of there." Iris greeted and thanked. As she gestured her hand to Ash.

"This is Ash. And the other guy is Zack."

"Hi my name is Dan, and my family and I operate a hotel spa that's not far from here." The Kid replied. Iris quickly ran up to grab his hand greatfully.

"This is so cool cause I happen to adore health spa's!" Iris stated.

"Me too!" Ash agreed.

"It would be nice to take a break from training." Zack commented, a bit worn out from trying to hit the Pidove with a pokeball.

"Well it makes me happy to hear that, but I'it makes me really sad to say we're closed right now, because of Sandile."

"Huh?"  
>_<p>

"Unfortunately, it now looks like this." Dan stated.

"Oh, that's too bad." Ash said disappointedly.

"So much for getting a break." Zack complained.

"It all happened a long time ago..."

"So now, I'm afraid we'll have to stay closed." Dan said disappointingly.

"I don't understand how a bunch of friendly sandile could have suddenly gotten destructive." Iris said confused.

"Me neither." Dan replied. Ash gave off a confident grunt as he squeezed his fist.

"Well we're going to help you find out!" He said bravely he hopped over onto the hot sand. Iris looked questionably as he suddenly burried himself beneath the hot sand, along with Pikachu as well. "Man, it doesn't get any better than this."

"Pika Pi." Pikachu said in an agreeing tone.

"What are you doing?" Iris asked confused.

"Well, before we figure it out, we need research first." Ash stated.

"You just wanna check out the hot sand." Iris retorted. She suddenly looked for a moment before moaning at the sight of Axew popping his head out of the ground next to Pikachu.

"Not you too..." She moaned.

"I agree Ash, your totally immature." Zack commented. Iris smiled as she looked back towards him.

"Well, I'm glad that someone agrees with-" Her expression suddenly dropped as she saw Zack, who was apparently laying next to a large rock in nothing but his shorts and had sunglasses on. And at the same time, he was holding a sun reflector around him, trying to get a tan. Before she could comment on his pokemon, the Riolu was already lying Zack's chest in a tan like pose as well, except had its eyes closed since it didn't have sun glasses.

"Sun bathing is really where its at." He stated.

"YOUR NOT HELPING!" The Arguing was suddenly interrupted though as they heard a strange rustling sound in the sand. As they looked in surprise as they saw a Sandile pop out from the hot sand.

"San-Dile!" It growled with an aggregated tone. Strangely, it had a pair of classes on its snout, sun glasses to be precise.

"That's him! That's the leader of the Sandiles!" Dan statted as he pointed to him. Zack looked at the Sandile with a curious expression, noticing the glasses on it's face.

"And I thought Riolu was the only one who liked wearing clothes." Zack commented as he rubbed his chin.

Suddenly, the Sandile lurched towards the Axew, grabbing it within it's jaws.

"No, Axew!" Iris said worriedly. As soon as it landed, the Sandile turned back as it growled again.

"Sandile!"

"We'll save you. Don't worry! Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Pikaaa..." Pikachu grumbled as it began to charge it's electricity.

"Ash! If you use your thunderbolt then Axew will get hurt!" Iris interrupted. Pikachu stopped charging as he heard this, knowing she was right at this. The two suddenly looked as they saw Iris running over towards the Sandile. "Now let go of my Axew or else!" Iris warned as she began pulling on the Sandile. The Sandile grumbled as it refused to let go, however. Ash, Pikachu, Zack, and Oshawott quickly ran over as they began to start pulling on the mouth to open it.

"Open your mouth! Come on!" Ash commanded. While Ash and Iris pulled from the side, the two pokemon worked on pulling the Axew itself out from the mouth, and Zack attempted pry the mouth open from the front. But even this didn't seem to make it budge, no matter how hard they all pulled.

As for the Riolu, he stayed back where Zack had set him. Even if he didn't Riolu was frightened at the sight of the aggressive pokemon, not just because of its looks, but it's look in general frightened due to it's special ability (and it really is a passive ability for Sandile and evolved forms, look it up ^^). But even then, it felt it's heart pumping. Not pumping in fear, but in adrenaline. Watching how everyone else was trying to save the brave Axew. It didn't even realize as it was squeezing it's own fist.

"C'mon, keep pulling." Ash said as he continued to pull on the pokemon's head.

"It won't budge! This guy has a tight grip!" Zack stammered.

"Keep trying. I have to get Axew out!" Iris said worried. As they continued to pull, Zack suddenly paused as he felt the wind breezing quickly for a moment, just a few seconds at most, before stopping. Unable to tell what it was, he looked back at where he left Riolu to see if it was ok. But to his surprise, and worry, the Riolu was gone.

"Hey, where's Riolu?" Zack said a bit worried. The other two looked back in a bit of confusion before they grew surprised at the sight of Riolu missing.

"Riooooo..." A voice suddenly shouted out. The gang looked around as they heard this voice, but were unable to tell where it came from. Zack suddenly looked back at the Sandile as he noticed a shadow looming over it. As he looked up, his eyes widened in surprise at what was coming down.

"Everyone back away!" Zack commanded immediately as he scooched back a foot.

"Lu!" The Riolu yelped, jabbing it's glowing-blue fist straight onto the Sandile's back, causing it to yelp in pain as released it's hold on Iris' Axew. Zack just blinked in amazement before seeing the Riolu land a few feet in front of him.

"T-T-That was amazing!" Zack said bluntly. The Riolu suddenly blinked a bit in confusion at this as if it suddenly forgot where it was. It looked around as it was trying to figure out where it was before looking back at Zack, happily. "Riolu!" It squealed. Pikachu jogged over to it with a smile, something that caused the Riolu to become frightened again. But before anything else could've been done, Riolu yelped in fear and pain as it was suddenly grabbed by the Sandile along with Pikachu, with Riolu from the waste down being hidden within it's mouth.

"Riolu!" Zack said worriedly, standing up to go after it. Before he could go, the Sandile narrowed his eyes as he tightened his grip on the two pokemon, and having half it's body in the Sandile's mouth, causing Riolu to scream in pain more.

"Rioooo!" The Riolu cried. Zack stopped moving as he saw this, taking an extra step back as a precaution, knowing he only tightened his grip as Zack got closer.

"Please, Sandile, I just want my Riolu back." Zack said in a begful tone. The Sandile simply grunted as it turned around and took off. "Wait!" Zack asked again. But to the groups' surprise, the Sandile was suddenly lifted off it's feet as it was levitated and stuck to a giant sized magnet attached to a crane. The others gasped in surprise and shock from this, unable to tell what was going on.

"What's all that?" Ash asked confused.

_**"Open your ear for the answer indeed."**_

_**"The answer to come, as we feel the need!"**__  
><em>_**"We bring white light of evil into your future."**_

_**"Hammering justice onto the black universe!"**_

_**"Calling our names for the rest of eternity!"**_

_**"The firey despairer, Jesse."**_

_**"With thunderous emotion, I am James."**_

_**"Wisest of the wise, Meowth."**_

_**"Now, gather under the name, Team Rocket!"**_

Zack just blinked in surprise at what he just witnessed, before turning towards Ash.

"Do they always do that?" He asked.

"It gets old, trust me." Ash replied.

"Don't you ever give up?" Iris asked angrily.

"Give us back our pokemon!" Ash yelled angrily.

"And my Riolu!" Zack added.

"There seems to be a flaw in your premise as they are now our pokemon." Jessie replied.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu yelled, trying to get out of the Sandile's grip.

"Riooo!" The Riolu cried again. The team simply chuckled amongst themselves as they began driving away, scattering the sand all around.

"Hey!" Zack yelled as the group ran after them. But before they could reach, they were suddenly blinded by the smoke bomb Meowth had thrown earlier, helping them escape...

"The Dream of catching Pikachu comes true!" Jessie said happily.

"And the Sandile and Riolu is a bonus prize." Meowth added.

"So, let's inform the boss right away." James stated. Before they could continue, however, there was a sudden quake felt as the large mobile crane suddenly fell to the side by a bit.

"Hey, what's going on?" James asked in the confusion. The three looked as they were suddenly surrounded by Sandile on all sides.

"Sandile..."

"Sandile..." They all chanted in an agitated-like manner.

"Stay away from us, what are you trying to do?" Meowth asked as he swung a metal pole back and forth.

"Sandile!" The leader sandile said as if commanding. Suddenly, all the sandile began to dig deep into the ground as fast as they could, disappearing in a matter of seconds as they went into the ground.

"Alright, what are they trying to do?" Jessie asked before turning to James. "James, lets get out of here right away."

"Right." James nodded in agreement. Suddenly, the ground began to shake as the earth beneath them began to give way, sinking the large crane with it. They screamed in terror as the crane sunk more and more until they finally managed to jump out of it, landing on a nearby ledge of a cliff. By the time they looked back, the Sandile were already chanting as they walked away.

"Team," James said getting their attention, "I'm afraid we have no choice but to retreat."

"Right!" The other two said in agreement as they took off. At the same time, the Sandile carrying Riolu and Pikachu finally let go, dropping them to the ground, though, it was only half a foot away from it's mouth. The Riolu quickly got back to it's as it looked back at the Sandile that had carried it somewhat angrily.

"Rioluuuu!" It growled a but.

"Sandile!" The Sandile snapped back, literally, as it growled and made a threatening bite mark at the young pokemon. The threat worked as it suddenly meeped in fear again, squatting on it's legs again as it covered it's head with it's paws. It already had tears forming in it's eyes, not just from the fact that it was surrounded by pokemon didn't know, but the fact it didn't even know where Zack was, never being separated this far away before since they met. It looked back however as it noticed Pikachu standing in front of it like a wall between the Sandile and baby Riolu (it is only a month old so chances are it's still a baby at that age, right? Seriously, the Pokemon facts need some sort of life span indicator or something on the Wiki site, don't they?).

"Pikachu, Pika pika pii!" It yelled back.

"Sandile, Sandi Sandile!" The Sandile retorted. Pikachu's ears twitched for a moment before it's tail suddenly began to glow with a color of pure iron. In one fatal swing, it swung it's tail over at the Riolu, who assumed it was trying to attack him even as he was ducked. But to his surprise, the attack instead struck the Sandile that had sneaked up behind Riolu, trying to take it away to the other pokemon. The Sandile growled a bit as it landed back on it's feet, despite being somewhat weakened against the Steel-type move. The Riolu was in pure shock and amazement at what he had witnessed, despite still fearing for it's life, especially after seeing two more angry Sandile walking up to them. Pikachu, however, remained fearless as it stood in front of the young pokemon.

"Pikaaa." The Pikachu said with more of a growl, electricity sparkling off it's cheeks. The head Sandile growled a bit before looking off into a different direction, as if concentrating or focusing on something. After a few more seconds, it huffed as it looked back at the other Sandile.

"Sandile! Sandile Sandile!" It said in command, a factor that caused the approaching Sandile to halt. Despite not knowing what was going on, Pikachu and Riolu blinked a bit in surprise as they felt the ground shake beneath them, if only for a moment.

"There they are." Dan stated as he hid behind a rock, followed by the others as well.

"And a bunch of wild pokemon too." Iris commented, noticing the Pidove, Deerling, and Patrats.

"I wonder what's going on?" Dan asked aloud. As they watched, they saw as another Sandile stood among some higher rocks, looking back at the pokemon as it began to speak.

Suddenly and without warning, a huge gyser of water burst through the ground, erupting in a flow of water. And not just this one, soon others began to burst with water as well creating steam all around. A geyser even popped out just feet away from Zack, causing him to jump.

"What the heck!" He yelped frightened.

"It's a geyser!" Dan stated, causing Ash to get a little confused.

"What's a geyser?"

"It's boiling water that shoots up from under the ground." Iris stated.

"I've never seen a gyser around here." Dan commented. As they looked back, they saw the Sandile walking away from Pikachu and Riolu. Pikachu waited till he was sure the Sandile was leaving before looking back at the Riolu, hearing it still sniffling.

"Pika Pikachu?" The Pikachu questioned, most likely wondering if the Riolu was ok. The Riolu simply continued to sniffle as it shook in it's position, tears still watering in it's eyes. The Pikachu simply smiled as it closed it's eyes, petting the Riolu's head assuring, like the Oshawott had done earlier. "Piiika pika pika." The Pikachu said, softly. The Riolu was still in wonder and fear though as the Pikachu pat it's head, but considering it just defended it like that, it felt a little bit at ease. Just a little.

"It looks like the Sandile with the glasses are sending them all somewhere." Iris commented as she watched.

"I'm bet'cha Sandile are trying to protect the other pokemon." Dan mentioned, catching the rest of the gang's attention. "I'm beginning to wonder if thats the reason they came to the Sand back in the first place. Because they were just trying to warn us all of the danger of the Gyser!" Dan stated.

"Is that why Sandile grabbed Axew?" Iris considered.

"It was trying to save Axew!" Ash said with sudden realization. "That Sandile is alright." Ash commented as he ran over to his Pikachu. Zack looked back intently as he stood back up, running over to his own pokemon.

"Riolu!" Zack yelled, followed by Ash. Riolu brightened as it saw it's friend once again.

"Rioluuuuu!" It cried happily, running up to Zack as it jumped to him. Zack simply smiled as he pet it's head as it cried into its chest.

"It's ok it's ok." Zack said comforting. He suddenly looked back as the Sandile started walking over to them. But before they could, the ground began to shake violently as the geysers shot out again. What's more, the area where the other pokemon were once standing was now being surrounded by water.

"They're surrounded by boiling water, now what do we do?" Iris asked worriedly.

"Alright!" Ash said bravely as he headed straight first for the water.

"Uhhh Ash I wouldn't-" Zack tried to warn, only for it to be too late as he took his first step into the boiling hot water, yelping as he quickly jumped out of it and backed away a few feet. "Nevermind."

"Ash, you can't go into the boiling water!" Iris stated as Ash rubbed his boiled foot.

"But I gotta do something to save them." Ash replied. Zack looked worriedly among the situation, as he looked into his bag, seeing the only other pokeball he had.

_I know it's for emergencies but..._ Zack thought to himself as he looked back at the Pokemon. _Dad said never to use it except an absolute last resort. There has to be something we can still do. _Zack's thought came to tuition as he looked back towards the Sandile, suddenly seeing the leader biting on a rock.

"Uhhh what is he doing?' Zack questioned at the confusing sight. As the gang continued to watch, they saw as more sandile began to bite on each others tail that was attached to one another which began to form a giant tower. Ash gasped, but in excitement, as he realized what was going on.

"They're making a bridge!" He announced. As if on cue, the Sandile began to lower the top of the tower down towards the small platform where the other pokemon were, forming said bridge.

"Yeah, awesome! Everyone cross over the bridge!" Ash commanded. Unfortunately though, the pokemon were all in fear as they couldn't force themselves to move from where they were.

"I think they're scared." Zack commented.

"We still gotta help them." Ash said as he quickly ran over on top the Sandile, over to the platform. Zack and Iris watched as he began instructing the other pokemon to come over, helping them as they did so onto the ground again.

"That's it, keep it coming." Zack commented, helping some of the pokemon onto the ground so they were calm. "So far so good." Zack commented before he turned back to look at Ash, seeing how it was going on his end. His eyes widened as he saw the platform they were on. "Ash!" Zack quickly yelled, getting his attention. "The platform's giving away!" Zack stated. As Ash looked back, he blinked in shock as what he said was true as he saw the platform under the Sandile begin to go out. He quickly snatched the Sandile before it could fall through the water. Zack gave off a sigh of relief as he wiped his forehead of the sweat the steam was causing. "That was a close one." He muttered.

As they watched Pikachu coming from behind the other pokemon in the group, a gyser suddenly sprang up not only next to Ash, but the water itself as practically aimed at him as the downpour came. Before it could though, everyone looked back as they saw Oshawott running across the Sandile before jumping to the air, releasing a large burst of water at the oncoming stream and managing to divert the water pressure away from Ash.

"Osha..." It said peacefully before it realized it was falling to the ground. "Oshawoooott!" It screamed as it began to fall.

"No Oshawott!" Ash yelled. Reacting quickly, he grabbed Oshawott's pokeball as he aimed it at him. "Oshawott, return!" Ash commanded as a sudden red laser shot out towards Oshawott, sending it back into the pokeball. Zack and Iris gave another sigh of relief as they saw this.

"Man, talk about good timing." Zack commented.

"It wasn't timing." Iris stated, causing Zack to grow confused.

"What do you mean?" He replied.

"It was just basic instinct. Whenever it comes to pokemon, you can't just do things with them as you plan all the time, you just gotta go through with it and trust in yourself." Iris commented as she looked back towards Ash. She gave a minor gasp as she saw Ash loosening his grip on the Sandile, racing quickly as she hopped atop the Sandile and ran over to him, grabbing his hand. She gave him a relieved smile. "That was pretty crazy Ash." She commented. Zack couldn't make out the rest of the words Ash said, although was pretty sure he was telling something to the Sandile as the Sandile began to lift them all back up through it's tail, creating a tower like structure again.

"You did it!" Zack said, talking to the both of them. He took a quick jump back as he noticed them falling. But what really caught his attention was antoher Sandile, close to the one they were holding onto, as it began to fall towards the boiling water. The trajectory at it's rate would've thrown it into the middle of the oncoming stream, making it to far away to catch safely. Zack felt his heart racing as everything seemed to slow down around him a bit, unable to tell what to do for a while. It quickly came to him as he grabbed the pokeball from his jacket, looking at it intently.

_It's the only way but what if I miss?_ He thought to himself, worriedly. _What if I mess up, then what happens? It'll be all my fault if it falls-"_

_**"It was just basic instinct. Whenever it comes to pokemon, you can't just do things with them as you plan all the time, you just gotta go through with it and trust in yourself." **_

Zack blinked as these words suddenly rang through his head, remembering what Iris told him. _Basic instinct? Does that involve catching them?_ Zack asked himself. He clutched the pokeball tightly as he saw the Sandile fall. _Only one way to find out. _

"Pokeball, go!" Zack yelled as he threw the pokeball with all his might at the Sandile. Although the pokeball didn't look like it was going to make it, the pokeball gave off a click as it barely tapped the side of the Sandile's tail, absorbing the pokemon in a red light as it went into the pokeball. Not only did it go into the pokeball, the red blinking light on the pokeball turned white, indicating a successful capture, before the pokeball itself fell into the water.

"Yes!" He cheered victoriously. He looked back towards the others as he saw them getting up, showing that they were ok.

***later***

"Well son, what do you think of our new hot spring?" Dan's father asked.

"I'm sorry the gysers caused us to lose our sand spot, but this is incredible!" Dan said greatfully as he saw said trainers realxing, all except Zack, and Riolu, who was simply heat bathing from the steam on a nearby rock. It wasn't until a few seconds later that he came up from the water, gasping for breath, as he was clutching the pokeball that he used to capture Sandile earlier.

"I got it!" He announced, raising his pokeball gracefully, and inadvertently splashing the other two.

"Hey!" They yelped, feeling the hot water splash them in their faces, and splashing back at Zack. The gang began to laugh as they played for a bit like this until they simply went back to relaxing, enjoying the hot spot for the day, yet, completely unaware of the Sandile with glasses that dug it's way through the dirt, looking back at them...

**Phew! That took forever, sorry for the wait and if it seemed chopy, rushed, one sided, etc., it's been awhile since i did a "redone" FF like this, since the last one was the Yugioh GX one. Anyway, rate and rev of what you think :D**


End file.
